Protective earring cover

ABSTRACT

An earring cover provided. The earring cover includes an elongated material having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, a front surface, and a back surface opposite the front surface. A first padding may be attached to the first end and a second padding may be attached to the second end of the elongated material. The first padding may include an opening formed thorough a center portion and the second padding may include an opening formed through the center portion. The earring cover may further include an adhesive layer disposed on the back surface of the elongated material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisionalapplication No. 62/263,045, filed Dec. 4, 2015, the contents of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to preventing injury due to earrings and,more particularly, to a protective earring cover.

An athlete wearing earrings during sport play is prone to risk of injuryto the ear, head or neck. Currently, there are no products on themarket, other than athletic tape and bandages that are used to solvethis problem. Typical athletic tape or bandages are not always acceptedby athletic leagues due to the lack of protection from the earring postwhich can cause injury to the head or neck. Further, tape and bandagesare time consuming to apply to ears and typically fall off due to lackof adhesive and a lack of flexibility.

As can be seen, there is a need for an earring cover that is flexibleand provides sufficient protection to prevent injury.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, an earring cover comprises: anelongated material comprising a first end, a second end, a frontsurface, and a back surface; a first padding comprising an openingformed through a center portion of the first padding, wherein the firstpadding is attached to the first end of the elongated material; a secondpadding comprising an opening formed through a center portion of thesecond padding, wherein the second padding is attached to the second endof the elongated material; and an adhesive layer disposed on the backsurface of the elongated material.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of protecting earsfrom injury comprises: providing an earring cover comprising: anelongated material comprising a first end, a second end, a frontsurface, and a back surface; a first padding comprising an openingformed through a center portion of the first padding, wherein the firstpadding is attached to the first end of the elongated material; and asecond padding comprising an opening formed through a center portion ofthe second padding, wherein the second padding is attached to the secondend of the elongated material; adhering the earring cover to an ear of auser wearing an earring, wherein the opening of the first padding isaligned with a front of the earring and the opening of the secondpadding is aligned with a backing of the earring.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present inventionshown in use;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a paper backing being removedfrom an adhesive layer;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a section view of an embodiment of the present invention takenfrom line 5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a back view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a section view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 11 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

The present invention includes decorative earring covers to protect earsduring sport play. The earring covers may include two decorative earringpads, connected by flexible tape that surrounds the earring and adds acushioned barrier between the earring (front and post) on both sides ofthe ear, minimizing risk of injury to the ear, head and neck. Thepresent invention includes decorative earring covers that arespecifically designed to fit around the earring and provides a soft,cushioned barrier between the earring and skin. The pads are connectedby a flexible adhesive fabric that is designed and sized specificallyfor ear applications for a comfortable fit that lasts for duration ofgame play.

The present invention may be constructed with a variety of materialsthat include, but are not limited to, fabrics, molded plastics andsilicone, paper products, coloring, and adhesives. The padding of theearring covers may include a variety of shapes colors and patterns. Theheight of each padding may range between about ¼″ and about ¾″ dependingon shape. The width of each padding may range between about ¼″ and about¾″ depending on shape. Each padding may include a hole that can rangebetween about 2 millimeters and about 6 millimeters in diameter. Thehole may be circular, or may take the form of a variety of shapes. Theearring paddings are connected by flexible fabric. The flexible fabriccovers the back of the openings of the top and bottom padding and willstretch over the front and back of the earring. Alternate embodimentsmay be made without flexible fabric covering the openings. The entirebackside of the present invention may be covered with the adhesivebacking. A paper covering covers the adhesive layer, and is be peeledoff, exposing the adhesive, prior to use.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 11, the present invention includes anearring cover. The earring cover includes an elongated material 18having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, a frontsurface, and a back surface opposite the front surface. A first padding10 may be attached to the first end and a second padding 14 may beattached to the second end of the elongated material 18. The firstpadding 10 may include an opening 12 formed thorough a center portionand the second padding 14 may include an opening 16 formed through thecenter portion. The earring cover may further include an adhesive layer20 disposed on the back surface of the elongated material 18.

The elongated material 18 may be made of a bendable stretchablematerial. For example, the elongated material 18 may be made of a wovenfabric.

In certain embodiments, the elongated material 18 may be made ofmaterial having rubber elasticity. As mentioned above, an adhesive layer20 may be disposed along an entire back surface of the elongatedmaterial 18 so that the earring cover adheres to the earring and ear 24of the user. A peel away paper 22 may cover the adhesive layer 20 untilthe earring cover is in use.

The first padding 10 and the second padding 14 may be made of any shockabsorbent material, such as, but not limited to, silicone, rubber, foam,and the like. The first padding 10 and the second padding 14 areattached to the front surface of the elongated material 18. The padding10, 14 may be in the form of a decorative shape, such as, but notlimited to, a heart, a flower, a star and the like. The opening 12 ofthe first padding 10 may align with the front 28 of the earring and theopening 16 of the second padding 14 may align with the earring backing30 and earring post 32 of the earring. The openings 12, 16 provideclearance for the earrings, which provides for a more comfortable fit.

As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the present invention may include twoupper paddings 34 and two lower paddings 38. The upper paddings 34 mayinclude an opening 36 formed through a center portion. The upperpaddings 34 are attached to the front and back surface at the first endof the elongated material 18. The lower paddings 38 includes an opening40 formed through a center portion. The lower paddings 38 are attachedto the front and back surface at the second end of the elongatedmaterial 18. The paddings 34, 38 may be attached to the elongatedmaterial 42 by an adhesive layer 44. An adhesive layer 44 may bedisposed over the third padding 34, the fourth padding 36 and theelongated material 42 in between. A peel away paper 46 may cover theadhesive 44 until the earring cover is in use. The embodiment of FIGS. 9and 10 adds an additional layer of padding to the present invention.

A method of protecting ears from injury may include the following steps:providing an earring cover having an elongated material having a firstend, a second end, a front surface, and a back surface, a first paddinghaving an opening formed through a center portion of the first padding,the first padding attached to the first end of the elongated material,and a second padding having an opening formed through a center portionof the second padding, the second padding attached to the second end ofthe elongated material; and adhering the earring cover to an ear of auser wearing an earring so that the opening of the first padding isaligned with a front of the earring and the opening of the secondpadding is aligned with a backing of the earring.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An earring cover comprising: an elongatedmaterial comprising a first end, a second end, a front surface and aback surface; a first padding comprising an opening formed through acenter portion of the first padding, wherein the first padding isattached to the first end of the elongated material; a second paddingcomprising an opening formed through a center portion of the secondpadding, wherein the second padding is attached to the second end of theelongated material; and an adhesive layer disposed on the back surfaceof the elongated material.
 2. The earring cover of claim 1, wherein theelongated material comprises a rubber elasticity.
 3. The earring coverof claim 2, wherein the elongated material is made of a fabric material.4. The earring cover of claim 1, wherein the first padding and thesecond padding are attached to the front surface of the elongatedmaterial.
 5. The earring cover of claim 1, wherein at least the firstpadding comprises a decorative shape.
 6. The earring cover of claim 4,further comprising: a third padding comprising an opening formed througha center portion of the third padding, wherein the third padding isattached to the back surface at the first end of the elongated material;and a fourth padding comprising an opening formed through a centerportion of the fourth padding, wherein the fourth padding is attached tothe back surface at the second end of the elongated material.
 7. Amethod of protecting ears from injury comprising: providing an earringcover comprising: an elongated material comprising a first end, a secondend, a front surface, and a back surface; a first padding comprising anopening formed through a center portion of the first padding, whereinthe first padding is attached to the first end of the elongatedmaterial; and a second padding comprising an opening formed through acenter portion of the second padding, wherein the second padding isattached to the second end of the elongated material; adhering theearring cover to an ear of a user wearing an earring, wherein theopening of the first padding is aligned with a front of the earring andthe opening of the second padding is aligned with a backing of theearring.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least the first paddingcomprises a decorative shape.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein theelongated material comprises a rubber elasticity.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the elongated material is made of a fabric material.